


Juno Steel is shorter than everyone

by magznus



Series: Jupeter fics [2]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Body Image, Cuddle times, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:29:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22415518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magznus/pseuds/magznus
Summary: Me? Projecting? Onto Juno Steel? More likely than you think.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Series: Jupeter fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602751
Comments: 2
Kudos: 102





	Juno Steel is shorter than everyone

Juno was short, it didn’t usually come up in conversation but it meant that he was always shorter than all of his partners. Among them, Peter Nureyev was no exception. He stood almost a whole foot above his boyfriend, towering over him whenever they stood next to each other.  
Most days Juno didn't complain, he enjoyed being the little spoon, he even liked that he could easily rest his head on Peter’s chest when they were standing together. But today was different. Today Juno didn’t just feel short, he felt small.  
Jet was a large man to everyone, but that morning when he walked passed Juno in the hallway he seemed giant. Buddy had patted him on the back as she walked by and he felt as though he had to strain his neck to look up at her. Even Rita had managed to walk past him while he was sitting down and had affectionately bumped him on the head.  
Juno managed to hide his insecurities long enough to make it through breakfast. He happily rushed back to his bedroom and locked himself inside before anyone could stop him. He passed Peter in the hallway, brushing passed him quickly and closing the door in his face.  
Peter watched as his boyfriend rushed passed him, Juno looked ready to cry with his shoulders hunched in and his head ducked down to hide his face. Peter followed behind him quickly, only to have their bedroom door shut before he could make it inside.  
Inside of the room Juno was pacing back and forth in front of the door. He didn’t know why he felt so terrible, why everyone seemed to loom over him all of a sudden. In the back of his mind he knew it was irrational, he was being insecure about something that had never affected him so much before.  
“Juno?” Peter’s warm voice came through the door, calming Juno’s nerve if only for a second. “Love, may I come in?”  
Juno paused, it was Peter’s room as well, and there was nothing stopping him from coming inside. But he was waiting. Waiting for Juno to give him permission, to be accepted inside.  
It took him a few minutes, talking himself into opening the door. When he did, he almost regretted it immediately. Peter was standing right against the door and he was suddenly only a foot away from Juno. His tall, lean figure towered over his boyfriend, and for the first time ever Juno was intimidated by him. He shrunk backward, into the room and away from Peter.  
Peter followed behind Juno by a few feet, stopping only once he reached the bed and sat down. He could tell something was wrong, Juno looked nervous and was currently pacing around on the other side of the room. He wanted to help but he could tell that his touch, and maybe even his words weren’t going to be welcome. All he knew was that he wasn’t going to leave Juno alone while he was so upset.  
Juno didn’t want to push Peter away, but beyond that, he had no idea what to do. Every time he looked at Peter he felt the same painful jab of insecurities in his gut that he had no control over. He had walked back into their room without saying a word, knowing that Peter was going to follow right behind him. What he didn’t expect was for Peter to stop following him, and to instead sit down on the bed.  
The small room was filled with silence sound was the quiet shuffle of Juno’s socked feet moving back and forth from the back wall to the door, and back. Peter watched and waited a calming and nonjudgemental presence. He tried to be as welcoming as possible, slouching slightly and watching Juno without seeming like he was staring.  
The pacing began to slow, Juno’s heart calmed slightly as he felt Peter’s gentle eyes on him. He finally stopped moving as he turned with his back to the far wall, leaning back against it and looking down at his feet.  
Peter noticed the change and spoke up quietly. “Juno, why don’t you come sit with me hm?” He smiled welcomingly and patted the bed next to him “It’s much more comfortable than the wall.”  
Juno hesitated before walking over slowly, lowering himself down so that there were a few inches between the two of them. He kept his head low, watching the ground and refusing to make eye contact. He seemed to sink into himself even more, shoulders hunched in with his chin tucked up against his chest. He looked impossibly small, so much smaller than the wonderfully large personality of the detective Peter had met so long ago.  
“What wrong dear?” Peter almost whispered, ducking his head down to try and match Juno’s posture, trying to catch his gaze.  
Juno shrugged, wrapping his arms around his middle before finally looking up into Peter’s eyes. He felt his heart stop at what he saw. Juno’s eye was almost overflowing with tears that he seemed to be fighting with all his willpower, his face was scrunched tightly and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball on their bed and disappear.  
“Oh Juno,” Peter practically cooed “Come here darling.”  
Juno fell into his boyfriend’s waiting arms, laying across his chest and letting his arms reach up and grab onto the ones holding him. Peter felt Juno start to shake, slowly at first while he continued to fight the emotions he had been holding in before it began to grow as he finally let himself go.  
Tears streamed down his face as sobs rocked through Juno, shaking him violently and painfully. Peter pulled both of them furth up the bed so that his back was against the wall and they were no longer hutched over. His long legs still hung over the edge, but Juno had pulled his up almost all of the way to his chest as he lay now completely in Peter’s lap.  
Peter began to talk to Juno quietly, continuing to coo in his ear, muttering as many comforting words he could think of without know why Juno was so upset. He wasn’t sure Juno could actually hear him over his own crying, and he only hoped that no one outside of their room could hear Juno. Heaven knows this was a much to privet a moment to share with even the most intimate of crews.  
It took Juno a while to finally calm down, and then he went completely silent. Just laying across Peter’s lab with his eye closed and breathing deeply. Once or twice Peter thought Juno had fallen asleep, but then Juno would begin rubbing at the skin on his arm that he still had held firmly in his grasp, or he would stretch ever so slightly until his legs were stretched out to match Peter’s.  
“I’m sorry” Juno’s voice was small and ragged, they had been sitting in silence for almost an hour and Peter had been slightly started out of his thoughts by the sudden yet quiet words.  
It took him a moment to realize what Juno had actually said, “Oh no, darling. You have nothing to be sorry for.” He brushed his hands through Juno’s hair, scratching gently at his scalp. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”  
Juno sighed, “I just meant, I’m sorry for breaking down. It was stupid and-”  
“Don’t finish that thought my love, nothing you have done was stupid. You are allowed to have emotions, and even more so you are allowed to express them however you need. And I would never judge you for that.”  
“I just, I’m not even sure why I…. I don’t know why.”  
Peter felt Juno tense up suddenly, his body filling with distress once again. “Shhh love, it’s alright.” He untangled his arm from Juno’s hold and pulled him closer, squeezing him tightly against his chest. “It’s alight darling,” Peter ran his hand up and down Juno’s back, drawing circles and shushing until his muscles once again relaxed.  
“I’m-”  
“Juno, darling, if you apologize I’m going to dump cold water on you.”  
“I...I wasn’t gonna...you know what!”  
Peter giggled, loosening his grip on Juno so that he could sit up to look him in the eyes. “What darling?”  
“You are cold Peter Nureyev.” Juno glared down at him, a glint in his eye giving away his true feeling on the situation.  
Peter happily smiled up at him, refusing to give into Juno. they looked at each other for a while before Juno finally gave up, latter he would blame it on the exhaustion, he lent down with a growing smile and kissed Peter on the nose before laying back down on top of him.  
Juno seemed more relaxed, finally, his arms snaked around Peter’s back and he hugged him back for the first time that day. He smiled happily as he rubbed his face against Peter’s chest until he was seemingly more comfortable.  
It didn’t take long before they both had fallen asleep, and though it wasn’t the least practical position to sleep, they both considered it one of the most comfortable naps either had had in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think.  
> Also, I've only been current on TPP for like two weeks and I've already written two full fics and I have like five different ideas on the way. I need help yall


End file.
